The present invention relates generally to portable corrals for horses or other animals, and is particularly concerned with a corral for attachment to a horse trailer or other animal transportation vehicle, or to a wall of a building such as a barn.
Horses used for competition and recreation are frequently transported via horse trailer to a variety of locations for such activities. Unfortunately, many of these locations either do not have facilities for horses to be stalled, the facilities are full, or the facilities are unsafe. Those traveling with horses, therefore, often bring along corral equipment that can be set up at the location for confining the horse. This equipment is either removably attached to the horse trailer or carried in the tow vehicle.
Materials often used in making these portable corrals include metal piping formed into fence panels, rope or electric wire, or woven plastic or rope. These materials are often connected to portable stakes driven into the ground to form fence posts.
Portable metal corrals have been used by those handling livestock for many years because of metal's durability and high-visibility to the animal. Specifically, many forms of portable corrals have been invented. Many of these corrals, however, are cumbersome due to multiple parts that must be lifted and removed from the trailer and require time-consuming assembly. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,151 to Bolton discloses that the corral assembly be hoisted with a winch along a vertical support pipe up onto mounting brackets. The corral assembly by Blagg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,529 is so weighty and cumbersome that it requires two men to load and unload the assembly from the horse trailer. Bernhardt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,256, requires that part of the assembly be placed on the roof of the trailer and parts of it be lifted onto a holding means on the side of the trailer.
There are times when the horse person may wish to adjust the size of the corral due to parking constraints or terrain concerns. In this situation, none of the above corrals could be made smaller or of un-uniform size.
Safety is the key concern of a person traveling with a horse. Some portable corrals on the market are of such a height or material that they allow a horse to reach over the top rail or under the bottom rail with its head in an attempt to graze, leading to an unsafe situation if the horse were to become startled. Additionally, the corral assembly may become damaged.
Fences are also used on people's property to contain and protect pets and children. Such fences are usually permanently installed with posts driven into the ground. A permanent fence may not be ideal in terms of cost, aesthetic concerns or for people who are not permanent residents of the property. Nonpermanent fences in the past have been unstable and cumbersome to assemble.
People traveling in motor homes or with travel trailers often travel with their pets and children. Having a “yard” for the pets or children to play safely in would be advantageous. As space in such motor homes or travel trailers is often limited, such yard fencing would best be stored on the exterior of the vehicle in a compacted form.